Lover s will
by Lt.AliciaWashington
Summary: Trouble ahead... Please listen to Lover s will by Bonnie Raitt
1. Chapter 1

Her blond hair tickled his shoulder as she relaxed against him, her blue eyes half closed and a lazy smile on her beautiful face.

Joseph trailed his fingertips along her upper arm, making her chuckle softly as she turned to face him.

"That tickles" she complained, playfully swatting his fingers away before sitting up and reaching for her dressing gown.

Joseph glanced at the clock on the bedside table.

"Do you have to leave already?"

The queen turned to him while tightening the sash on her dressing gown.

"No- but you have to, I need to start getting ready for the ball."

"Now? It´s only four, the ball will start at eight."

"Exactly."

Clarisse got up and walked over to her bathroom door, then turned back to the man on the bed.

"I´ll go and have a shower- I will see you later then."

Noticing a dismissal when he heard one Joseph began to gather his clothes and dressed hurriedly while the queen closed the bathroom door behind herself.

He hated it when she treated him this way, like he was nothing but a servant catering to her needs- when he thought about it, that was probably how she saw him, anyway.

He wasn´t exactly looking forward to the upcoming evening, the queen was hosting the annual Independence Day Ball and he would stand somewhere next to the entrance door, trying to ensure the safety of hostess and guests while Clarisse would dance with about every man in attendance, being all smiles and flirtation while he, Joseph, wouldn´t even be allowed to address her except in case anything might happen to endanger her.

In retrospect her couldn´t really say how he had gotten himself into this impossible situation, the king had died about a year previously and the queen had begun to rely on Joseph more and more long before that, as her husband had gotten weaker, leaving more and more of his chores to his wife.

When it came to their friendship Clarisse Renaldi was a wonderful, warm and reliable person but unfortunately when it came to their sexual relationship things were different.

While Joseph was hopelessly in love with his beautiful queen and therefore frequently allowed her to treat him like some sort of toy, summoning and disposing of him as she pleased, Clarisse didn´t seem to have any feelings of a romantic sort for Joseph, in fact it seemed as though she simply found it convenient that her best friend whom she knew and trusted also happened to be an attractive man.

Sometimes Joseph wondered if she really didn´t know what she was doing to him but then again that wasn´t possible, she was a smart woman and must detect the signs he gave her, he had told her in any possible way, if not in plain words, how he felt about her and she simply refused to even acknowledge it.

Hearing the shower being turned off Joseph realized that he was still standing in Clarisse´s bedroom and quickly made his way over to the doors, the last thing he needed was for her to come out of the bathroom and ask him what he was still doing there.


	2. Chapter 2

Clarisse opened the bathroom door, relieved to find Joseph gone.

Things with him were getting more and more difficult lately, it had taken her quite some time after her husband´s death to realize how much she was missing the physical side of a relationship and approaching Joseph about it had been the logical consequence, she could trust him and there was no mistaking the mutual attraction between them.

She hadn´t had to ask twice, all it had taken to seduce her best friend had been a low cut evening gown and a rather cliche invitation to have a nightcap in her suite after a ball she had hosted at the palace the previous spring.

After handing him a glass of brandy she had sat down next to him on the couch, closer than would have been considered appropriate and had removed her long white gloves, aware that Joseph´s eyes were following her every move.

His reaction had encouraged her and with an unusual boldness she had taken the glass away from him and put it down onto the table before pressing her lips to his.

He had kissed her back instantly, his arms wrapping around her waist, his fingers splayed on the skin on her back, left bare by her gown.

In retrospect she should have realized that it had been too easy, while she had been looking for a lover and only that, Joseph very obviously wanted more, even though he hadn´t said anything about it- yet.

She couldn´t believe she hadn´t realized how Joseph felt about her before and now it obviously was too late- sooner or later Joseph would confront her and then her only option would be to reject him and knowing Joseph, to think that it would be possible to go back to their friendship after that was an illusion.

Of course she didn´t want to loose Joseph but what were her options?

She couldn´t make a commitment, not yet and probably not even after Phillippe had been crowned king, she was supposed to be a role model and it wouldn´t be respectable for her to admit she had had an affair, especially one with an employee.

She had wondered before why Joseph was still working for the Genovian Royal Family, he was a highly trained specialist and couldn´t complain about a lack of job offers.

Now she had her answer to the question of course and she didn´t like it at all, Joseph was a wonderful person and he deserved a home and a family for himself, he deserved so much more than being in love with a woman who didn´t share his intense feelings.

Clarisse sat down at her dressing table and begun to brush her still damp hair, pondering, like she did so often, if there was any way out of the situation and again she came to the conclusion that there wasn´t- if she told Joseph she wanted to stop their encounters he might pack his things and leave on the spot.

She could only wait and hope that Joseph wouldn´t find the courage to say anything at all- but then this was Joseph and if there was anything he didn´t lack it was courage.

When she had finished putting on her make up Clarisse got up and walked over into her living room where her maids were already waiting for her to help her put on her gown.

She kept thinking about her unpleasant problem all the way to the ballroom and when she spotted Joseph standing next to the doors, looking devastatingly handsome in his black suit the queen felt herself blush as images of the afternoon spend in her bedroom invaded her mind.

Joseph wasn´t exactly helpful for at the sight of her he looked her upside down in a way that made Clarisse wish the ball was already over and she could have Joseph undress her again in the privacy of her suite.

She drew a deep breath, tying to calm her racing heartbeat again- she couldn´t afford to have such thoughts, she was supposed to be calm and collected and a perfect hostess, for heaven´s sake, there was no room in her life for raging hormones and blushing over inappropriate fantasies.

The doors were thrown open for her and Clarisse straightened up before resolutely walking forward, a radiant smile on her face.


End file.
